The life and times of Lance Buchanan and Kyle Bandermann -- sailor and shipmate, adventurers, and world changers.

09 May 2014

Back on Good Ole Rockytop!

(Lance)

This has certainly been quite the week for the Buchandermann family! Currently, we are in Knoxville to celebrate Kyle graduating from the University of Tennessee with his PhD in Psychology!

I am very proud of all of his accomplishments, but this one has been one of Kyle's goals for a long time! I could not imagine getting a PhD. I believe that it takes a very special type of person to put forth the effort to obtain this level of acadimic achievement. Not only did he obtain just any "plain ole' PhD," but one in psychology! It takes an even more special person to be a successful psychologist!

Yay PhD!

We always get super excited when traveling to the south. Knoxville, in particular, holds three places we make sure to visit on every trip: Tupelo Honey Cafe (those biscuits, tho!), Dollywood (which we're visiting today), and Walmart! Yes, Walmart. In our observations, while "people of Walmart" (you've got to see that website) are probably more homogenous, the stores themselves are very different in the northeast. We will never forget our first trip to a Maryland Walmart, which was more like the 76th Annual Hunger Games, complete with tributes from at least 100 different countries. People were fighting over shampoo, because there wasn't enough on the shelves. The floors looked like people had walked on them barefoot and, while we wouldn't have ever purchased the "produce" on the market side of the store, this is a moot point since there was no such market side--it was a regular, non-24 hour, non-supercenter Walmart. Seriously? Is this 1992? Suffice to say, the South's Finest Walmart and Sam's Club are one of our favorite destinations to stock-up on $2.96 Old Spice Body Wash. My reaction: "Look at these prices! Everything's basically freeeee!!!"More adventures in Dixie to come!

And I don't know how long you two are planning to stick around K-Town, but I would love the chance to see you. If that won't be practical I would like to perhaps talk via email soon... God has been speaking to me in some crazy ways about my ministry in the future and I have some questions for you. Life as a follower of Jesus in an enculturated church climate (with biases for miles) is surprisingly difficult so I am hoping for some feedback. I've been praying about this a lot and definitely feel moved to get in touch with you (plural).

About Us

Lance is a photographer, world-class barista, student, and supportive Navy wife. He is originally from Western North Carolina and enjoys all things Asian, traveling, and making people's days.
Kyle is a world-class coffee consumer, Clinical Psychologist, and US Navy Lieutenant with the Medical Service Corps. He is originally from Missouri and enjoys traveling, technology, and the unconditional support he receives from Lance.